The re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for a sixth term in August 2020 triggered a deep political crisis in the country and strong post-electoral mobilisation for several months. The stabilisation of the facade restored by violent repression, the new constitutional reform of 2022 and the geopolitical crisis caused by the war in Ukraine all contributed to freezing the situation without the crisis being resolved in substance. How should the events of 2020 be interpreted? What long-term impact will these events have on the development of the regime and Belarusian society? This book brings together a series of contributions that reflect on society, power, law and international relations as explanatory factors of this political crisis and its consequences. While the Belarusian national and political awakening has indeed taken place, the quest for democracy is still emerging, and the new division of Europe is likely to make this quest much more difficult, though not impossible.

This book is included in DOAB.